EWRCabincrew From United States of America, joined May 2006, 5522 posts, RR: 57 Reply 1, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 2736 times:
Not to fond of the pictures on all the pages, but then again, no one asked me. The only people that see it (as least for my passport) are the Chinese and French embassies (for crew visas) and German immigration (they go through our passports).
Ebs757 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 757 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 9 hours ago) and read 2730 times:
I applied for mine 4 months ago and still haven't gotten it... when was this "new" design added?
AA7295 From Australia, joined Aug 2007, 533 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 2725 times:
Quoting Ebs757 (Reply 2): I applied for mine 4 months ago and still haven't gotten it... when was this "new" design added?
How weird that you applied for a US passport 4 months ago and you haven't gotten it, and here in Australia, it takes 3 weeks from the US Consulate-General.
Ebs757 From United States of America, joined Jul 2006, 757 posts, RR: 0 Reply 4, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 2723 times:
Quoting AA7295 (Reply 3): How weird that you applied for a US passport 4 months ago and you haven't gotten it, and here in Australia, it takes 3 weeks from the US Consulate-General.
EWRCabincrew From United States of America, joined May 2006, 5522 posts, RR: 57 Reply 5, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 2723 times:
Quoting AA7295 (Reply 3): How come your not fond of the pictures?
I am just not. They end up covered by visas and stamps and aren't able to be seen anyway. A waste of for a page, personally.
57AZ From United States of America, joined Nov 2004, 2550 posts, RR: 2 Reply 6, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 4 hours ago) and read 2709 times:
Quoting AA7295 (Reply 3): How weird that you applied for a US passport 4 months ago and you haven't gotten it, and here in Australia, it takes 3 weeks from the US Consulate-General.
This is due to the vast number of US citizens who have not previously had passports applying en masse due to the new border security iniative. I work at a passport accceptace agency and two years ago, we knew that the requirement was coming and that there was no way that the Department of State would be able to manage the process in an efficient manner. Before this mess, passports typically only took four weeks average.
"When a man runs on railroads over half of his lifetime he is fit for nothing else-and at times he don't know that."
AA7295 From Australia, joined Aug 2007, 533 posts, RR: 0 Reply 7, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 4 days 1 hour ago) and read 2699 times:
Quoting 57AZ (Reply 6): This is due to the vast number of US citizens who have not previously had passports applying en masse due to the new border security iniative. I work at a passport accceptace agency and two years ago, we knew that the requirement was coming and that there was no way that the Department of State would be able to manage the process in an efficient manner. Before this mess, passports typically only took four weeks average.
Well it's weird because the passports aren't actually produced in Australia. My understanding is they are sent to the passport processing facility in Arkansas and are then sent back to Australia.
Davescj From United States of America, joined Jun 2007, 2244 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 3 days 23 hours ago) and read 2685 times:
I suspect the pictures are being added to make forgery more difficult. In my passport (issued 2001) the great seals of the various states are in the visa pages, along with watermarks in the paper. The seals seem to be repeated in the same order over and over -- as if they are printed on one massive ream, then cut to fit multiple passports.
With he new design, while the same pictures will be on all passports, the multiple colors and multiple designs with multiple colors of ink will make the new passport much more difficult to forge. An agent could ignore the visa on page 6, but look to see if page 10 has the correct picture. If it is not there, the fact that something is wrong will be quick to see.
N231YE From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 9, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 3 days 20 hours ago) and read 2666 times:
Quoting Ebs757 (Reply 2): I applied for mine 4 months ago and still haven't gotten it
Quoting AA7295 (Reply 3): How weird that you applied for a US passport 4 months ago and you haven't gotten it, and here in Australia, it takes 3 weeks from the US Consulate-General.
Quoting Ebs757 (Reply 4): Here in the us its pretty bad
I applied for mine 3 three weeks ago, and I was told the standard service could take up to 12 weeks. For an additional $100+, you could get one in as little as 3 weeks, however, I am in no rush, and do not plan on going anywhere anytime soon (with the exception of driving to Canada).
DeltAirlines From United States of America, joined May 1999, 8771 posts, RR: 13 Reply 10, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 3 days 11 hours ago) and read 2623 times:
I knew one person that was traveling to ICN at the beginning of July, who applied back in late January for his passport. Come April, his mother (who I work with) was starting to get worried; she ended up having to go to the passport agency in Boston with him and getting the passport done there in person.
Glad I got mine about 2 years ago and it's valid for another 8 years.
SW733 From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 6072 posts, RR: 10 Reply 11, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 3 days 10 hours ago) and read 2617 times:
Quoting AA7295 (Reply 3): How come your not fond of the pictures? I think they're very patriotic and show positive affirmations of America.
I still have one of the old US passports, as mine doesn't expire until...2011? Something like that. Anyways, I hate the new ones...Yes, they are patriotic and positive and flashy yes, but...in my eyes they're gawdy, an eyesore. I'm a simplistic person, I like the old school "state seals" pages
PDXtriple7 From United States of America, joined Dec 2004, 695 posts, RR: 0 Reply 13, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 2 days 4 hours ago) and read 2545 times:
I was noticing my friends had the new passport. I wasn't a big fan because it looked so busy, detracting from any stamps that one would get.
Slovacek747 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 14, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 1 day 17 hours ago) and read 2492 times:
My dad just applied for a passport about 3-4 weeks ago. I heard they had hired a lot of additional workers to speed things up. Does anyone think it will still take 4 months to get one? As soon as he receives it, we are booking tickets to Europe during early January. Hope he gets it soon.
AA7295 From Australia, joined Aug 2007, 533 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 1 day 13 hours ago) and read 2429 times:
Quoting Slovacek747 (Reply 14): My dad just applied for a passport about 3-4 weeks ago. I heard they had hired a lot of additional workers to speed things up. Does anyone think it will still take 4 months to get one? As soon as he receives it, we are booking tickets to Europe during early January. Hope he gets it soon.
If there is a backlog that big. Surely 4 months is absurd. Even though the situation is in my favour, I think it's absurd that I will get my US passport here in Australia in 3 weeks and in the US it takes months, despite them both being manufactured in the Arkansas Passport Facility. Unfair!
Walter747 From United States of America, joined Oct 2006, 1440 posts, RR: 5 Reply 16, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 1 day 12 hours ago) and read 2399 times:
AA7295 From Australia, joined Aug 2007, 533 posts, RR: 0 Reply 17, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 1 day 4 hours ago) and read 2330 times:
Umm, we are talking about the new design of the E-Passport, not how long it takes to get your passport. Regardless of whether the State Department changed the design, with the new rules, passport production delays are inevitable.
YOWza From Canada, joined Jul 2005, 4781 posts, RR: 17 Reply 18, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 1 day ago) and read 2299 times:
The pictures on every page are a bit much. Makes it seem kind of like the mini booklets kids get at theme parks requiring them to get stamps on every page to win a prize. Then again since I don't qualify for one my opinion is neither here nor there.
LH423 From Canada, joined Jul 1999, 6501 posts, RR: 55 Reply 19, posted (5 years 9 months 3 weeks 9 hours ago) and read 2231 times:
I like the pictures on the visa pages. It's kinda like the French passports showing great achievements (in the French passport one of the pages shows what is clearly an Air France A340). What I don't like is the new id page. It's way too busy and the patriotism is a little nauseating with the eagle and the flag. I sometimes feel that the flag, as an emblem of the US, is overused. My passport is up for renewal next year. Not until December but I need to get it renewed and then extend my Canadian visa before 21 December so I'll probably put in for it around April. Apparently, I'm supposed to mail it in as if I were renewing from within the US but if I can go down to the US embassy in Ottawa, that might be easier and quicker. Either way, I'll be getting one of these new passports. About time too...I'm sick of having people comment on how I've changed. Yeah, I was 16, of course I've changed!
LH423
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